An Ephrata man and woman charged with endangering their 7-year-old son by exposing him to cocaine, resulting in him suffering a seizure, will have their cases proceed to county court.

Judge Clark Bearinger ruled Jan. 16 that the case of Angelo Louie Patrick, 31, could proceed to the Court of Common Pleas on charges of endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person. Separately, Elizabeth Amanda Nolan, 30, waived her preliminary hearing before Judge Bearinger the same day on identical charges.

Patrick and Nolan are accused of exposing the victim to cocaine at their shared residence in the 500 block of East Main Street, resulting in the boy suffering a seizure the morning of Nov. 19, 2024.

The boy was taken to a nearby hospital after the couple were unable to wake him that morning where it was discovered that he had cocaine in his system.

Nolan was also determined to have cocaine in her system in a drug test conducted hours later, though she denied using the drug and was unable to explain the test’s results.

In a subsequent interview the victim told investigators that Patrick and other family members previously used drugs in front of him, including what he described as “white stuff.” The victim also said Patrick told him to answer investigators’ questions carefully to avoid getting the couple in trouble if he mentioned anything about “bad things” in the home.

Another family member told investigators he had used cocaine at the couples’ residence during a party there days earlier and left residue of the drugs on a chess board which was never cleaned.

Both Patrick and Nolan remain free on $20,000 unsecured bail.

Ephrata Borough Police Officer Cody Newswanger filed the charges.

Assistant District Attorney Callista Chartier will prosecute the case.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.